Earlier this year BA Graphic Design Communication collaborated with Clerkenwell Design Week, the UK’s leading independent design festival which this year welcomed almost 35,000 visitors.
Specially commissioned for the festival’s 10th anniversary edition and featured prominently around the east London area of Clerkenwell, the students devised a collection of temporary graphical street installations which celebrated the rich and sometimes dark historical tales of the neighbourhood.
Titled Once Upon a Time, the series detailed stories from 6 locations that have been interpreted into highly visual designs.
, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
House of Detention by Natasha Lopez
Natasha's work interpreted one of the tales from the House of Detention. In 1867, an attempted escape from the prison went terribly wrong as a bomb ruptured a nearby gas main and killed 12 people. Known as ‘The Clerkenwell Outrage’, the event is recalled through Natasha Lopez’s design, where a geometric illustration presents a modern graphic of the explosion.
, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
Jerusalem Passage by Woon Ko
The installation at Jerusalem Passage celebrated a former resident, Thomas Britton, and the quite unique occasions held at this place. It is claimed that the coal merchant fitted out the loft of his shop as a tiny concert hall to put on informal performances, which later gave him the nickname of ‘the musical coalman’. Taking inspiration from this, the graphic incorporates an interactive piece where visitors could scan a QR code to listen to a music score.
Farringdon Station by Alba Skottowe
As the location for the world’s first underground railway, Alba Skottowe created a highly informative illustration outside Farringdon Station. The image represents the old metropolitan railway line with the original stops marked along its' winding path. This graphic also reflected the timeline of the railway’s history, where additional imagery depicts the various events that happened.
Smithfield Market by Carrie Maxwell
Smithfield has been a meat market since 1846. Carrie Maxwell creating a mosaic of the workers hands celebrating the backbone of the location.
, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
Passing Alley by Rory Brown
Within Clerkenwell’s winding fabric of old streets and buildings, Rory Brown created a graphical representation of the history of the Passing Alley. It is located just a short distance from the Old Baptist’s Head pub, where newly convicted criminals being escorted from court to prison would stop for a final drink. It is said that many used the alley afterwards to relieve themselves, giving the passage the nickname of ‘Pissing Alley’.
, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
Passing Alley by Maxim Cook
In the same alley, Maxim Cook created an interactive project that encompasses the past and future of the location. Visitors were able to scan each QR code on the objects to find out more about the alley. Facts and stories from the past few centuries were unearthed.
St. James Church by Alistair Ramage
At St. James Church garden, Alistair Ramage made a modern memorial to honour the 66 martyrs who were burned alive at the stake for having Protestant beliefs. Displaying the names of those killed, the design also references the geometric style of the church’s stained-glass windows.
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